Practitioner information

The following regulated professions are overseen by the Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners. Learn more about applying for a license, associated fees, laws, rules and more by following the links below:

About the board

The Oregon Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners oversees the practices of tattoo artists, electrologists and body piercers, including specialty piercers and earlobe-only piercers.

The Board of Body Art Practitioners consists of seven members appointed by the governor:

Two licensed to perform body piercing

Two licensed to perform tattooing

One licensed to perform electrolysis

One public member

One health care provider member licensed under ORS Chapter 677, 678 or 685

The term of office of each member of the board is four years, but a member serves at the pleasure of the governor. Vacancies are filled by the governor by appointment for the unexpired term. A member serves until the appointment and qualification of a successor.

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Board members

Cameron Straub

Term: 2nd Full
Term end: 4/30/2021
Monroe

Cameron D. Straub is the lead tattoo artist, piercer, tattoo instructor, and co-founder/owner of Eugene Tattoo and Body Piercing Company, as well as being on the Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners and an ongoing state piercing proctor. He is an Oregon State University graduate with a bachelor's in art and minor emphasis in business and a former OSUMU ceramics instructor.

Straub grew up influenced by his grandparents. One was an art instructor and a few were accomplished painters, but he was most impressed by his father, who was a dermatologist and flight surgeon, as well as being an art lover. The family joke was: What happens to a child who loves art and works closely with his father’s skin practice? He becomes a tattoo artist and body piercer.

“For the last six years, we have enjoyed running a clean, professional shop providing a complete tattoo and body piercing experience," Straub said. "Our devotion is to providing clean and professional tattooing and piercing, in a clean and professional environment. I welcome the opportunity to help do the same for the people of Oregon.”

Matthew Holmes

Term: 1st Full
Term end: 2/21/2021
Portland

Matthew Holmes took an interest in being a piercer after leaving the army, and became a tattoo artist a couple years later. He has enjoyed working as a piercer and tattoo artist and believes the profession is made possible through continued, attentive education of those wishing to join the occupation, as well as those continuing to provide these services to the public. Because of this, he chose to work as a piercing supervisor for apprentices, and has worked in two separate shops that also run tattoo schools.

Matthew feels great pride knowing that several of his former apprentices are doing quality work for the community. He also works as a proctor for the piercing practical exam, because he truly cares about the quality of work produced by those licensed in the state of Oregon.

Outside of work, Matthew enjoys volunteering for a world-wide nonprofit education organization, the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). The main focus of which, is teaching the modern world about life in the Middle Ages. He believes that continuing to learn new things, no matter one's age, is key to health and happiness. This is a big part of why he enjoys volunteering with the SCA, because it embraces people of all ages and walks of life.

Lisa Chambliss

Term: 1st Full
Term end: 1/31/2020
Eugene

Lisa Chambliss works as a registered nurse and the Immunization Coordinator in the Communicable Disease Program at Lane County Public Health in Eugene. Chambliss was born and raised in Maui, Hawaii. She got her BS degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oregon and returned to Maui for nursing school. Chambliss came back to Eugene in 2012 after a preceptorship in the ICU at Maui Memorial Medical Center and some work experience in the campus Health Center at University of Hawaii Maui College. Her interest in serving on the Board stems from her passion for community health and the minimization of the spread of disease.​

Aaron Solomon

Term: 1st Full
Term end: 2/21/2021
Portland

Aaron Solomon has been a full-time professional body piercer for the last twenty years. He holds a specialty level one body piercing technician license and is an Oregon Health Licensing Office (HLO) approved body piercing training supervisor. Aaron is the owner and senior piercer of Velvet Elvis Piercing in Portland and Gresham. He is a current business member of the Association of Professional Piercers. Before his term on the Oregon Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners he also served on the Rules Advisory Committee providing insight and experience in helping to refine Oregon’s body art regulation.

Aaron has been passionate about body piercing since his teenage years. When he was able to attain an apprenticeship in 1997, it set the career path that he is still following steadily with vigor to this day and looking to well into the future. After all these years the fire for body piercing still is burning bright for him. Still to this day he pursues the philosophy of “forever learning” attending continuing education opportunities like the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) annual conference and their advanced curriculum members only retreat Camp APP. He also organizes bi-monthly meetings of likeminded reputable piercers in the greater Oregon and southern Washington area in which round table discussions and exchange of ideas take place.

Wendy Blenning

Term: 2nd Full
Term end: 1/31/2020
Portland

Wendy Blenning is a retired licensed clinical social worker who was in private practice from 2002 to 2011. Previously, Blenning served as Director of Operations, Director of Counseling and as a clinical social worker at Neighborhood Health Clinics, Inc.; Clinical Director and Program Director at Women's Intercommunity AIDS Resources; and WomensLink Program Director at Prototypes. She graduated from California State University at Los Angeles with a bachelor's of arts in social welfare and minors in women's studies and social gerontology, and from the University of Southern California with a master's degree in social work. "I have been interested in body art since I was a child and saw sailors with tattoos of women that they could make dance just by flexing," Blenning said. "Over the years I have noticed the changes and growth in body art, and as a therapist, wondered and asked my clients as to the meaning they ascribe to their tattoos, piercings and plugs. In addition to health safety, I would like to explore what additional roles the board might play."

Shane Seven Wolfe

Term: 1st Full
Term end: 12/17/2021
Portland

Seven became a piercer to give the gift of ritual and beauty through adornment. He loves working with the energy pathways of both the physical body and the subtle bodies. With his extensive knowledge of the body mind and spirit, and the Body Piercing industry he loves to apply that to helping people actualize their body modification dreams. He has a soft spot for being able to give young children (over the age of 6) their rite of passage ear piercings.

Seven has been a Reiki practitioner for the past twenty years, has taught Sivananda-inspired yoga since 2007, and has been a member of the Association of Professional Piercers since 2009. He has focused interests in energy work, sustainability, vegan raw foods, gardening, and the philosophy and practice of yoga. Seven enjoys spending time with chosen family, both human and non-human, including his rescue Chihuahuas, Aura and Flint.